Children make connection with wolves

Members of the nonprofit wolf rescue organization brought five wolves to two assemblies so children could learn about them, pet them and take pictures with them.

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Natasha Dolgushkin, pack trainer for Wolf Connection from Acton, lets children pet Zimba at Arroyo Elementary School in Simi Valley on Friday. Members of the nonprofit wolf rescue organization brought five wolves to two assemblies so children could learn about them, pet them and take pictures with them.

And through it all, most of the subjects in question stood and sat calmly in front of the eager third- through sixth-graders. However Tala, the pack's alpha wolf, gave a good face licking to several of the fifth-grade boys.

"Our pack is a very happy pack," said Teo Alfero, the founder and director of Wolf Connection.

Wolf Connection is a nonprofit wolf rescue organization based in Acton. But there's more to the organization than just housing abandoned and abused wolves. Alfero, a former professional rock climber, spent years working with teen and young adult drug addicts, trying to help them through recovery with rock climbing and outdoor experiences.

"I was looking for a new edge to reach the kids," Alfero said.

At the same time, he had Tala, and wanted to find her a partner. Chance brought him and a friend together, who told Alfero about a wolf rescue organization whose owner had died, leaving 16 wolves and dogs without care.

Alfero found his calling. Three dogs from that group were placed in homes. Three wolves soon died from old age. That left 10 wolves plus Tala, and Wolf Connection was born.

That was two years ago. Now Alfero has a 30-acre ranch housing 21 adult wolves of various breeds that are cared for by a staff of 15 volunteers. Many were rescued from people keeping them as domestic pets, an act that is illegal in California for purebred wolves and is also not very smart, Alfero said.

"These wolves were bred in captivity and sold as pets. Wolves do not make good pets," he told the students. "They need a lot of space for exercise and they need other wolves to make a family with. And, if they miss you, like when you're gone at school, they will chew and dig through everything. I'm down two couches at home."

Besides its onsite programs, which include youth intervention and family/community programs like hikes with the wolves, Wolf Connection is reaching out to schools to teach kids about wolves. Alfero was invited to Arroyo through the school's PTA to speak at two assemblies covering all of the grades. He's developed a specific curriculum for young children, teaching them about how wolves can empower their lives.

"The kids, as they grow, are at a time when they can use guidance from nature," Alfero said.

He told the Arroyo students that wolves are OK with who they are, give 110 percent to whatever task they engage in and are master team players working together for the good of the pack.

"So remember when you do something, to do your best, like the wolves," he told the students.

Arroyo Principal Nancy Mason watched as the children were completely absorbed by the wolves.

"When he told the kids about being like wolves, I thought I'd cry," she said.

Natasha Dolgushkin helps Alfero develop the curriculum for the programs. She worked with exotic animals when she was in college but hadn't for years. Looking for a way to use her skills, she came across a flier about Alfero's fledgling program.

"I knew this was it," Dolgushkin said.

She said the wolves have an innate ability to sense which kids are troubled and which are afraid of dogs. With those children and teens, the wolves seem naturally drawn to them and are gentle.

"We were looking for a way in to the kids," she said. "With these guys (wolves), it was instant."

For more information about Wolf Connection and its family and intervention programs, go to www.wolfconnection.org or call 661-450-8191.